Yesterday we took a walk along the South Platte River to view some of the bird life. There were plenty of mallards and swallows, but fewer other species. We did manage to see a great blue heron and several night herons. At one spot, where we saw a night heron, we had stopped by a bush with some wildflowers. While making some images, I noticed that there were several bugs that had climbed into one of the flowers. In one clump of flowers, I had counted 9 bugs — too many to capture in one image.
Bug On Wildflower By Platte River
Here is another image given a black and white treatment with Snapseed.
Wildflower Near South Pliatte River
Further along were some thistles. The fine hairs were difficult to see in the original image, so I tried ShockMyPic, to render the hairs like paintbrush strokes.
“Shocked” Thistle Along The South Platte
Several milkweed plants grow close to the banks of the Platte River. Here I found a red bug crawling over one of seed pods.
Red Bug On Milkweed
I noticed another plant that had three seed pods. I converted this image to black and white to reveal the texture of the seed pods.
Milkweed By The South Platte
Later in the fall, these seed pods dry out and split open, releasing hundreds of seeds. These seeds are attached to very fine white hairs so they can be carried by the wind. I wonder whether the hot weather will cause the pods to open sooner this year.